Exclusive

Listen to The Bachelor Winter Games' Opening Ceremony Anthem and Learn Its Crazy Backstory

Exclusive: The Bachelor Winter Games' executive producer Bennett Graebner breaks down the opening ceremony's infamous anthem, which E! News is debuting ahead of the Feb. 13 premiere

By Tierney Bricker Feb 09, 2018 8:59 PMTags

Ladies and gentleman, please stand for the singing of Bachelor Nation's anthem. 

Yes, you heard that right: The Bachelor Winter Games' has its very own anthem for the opening ceremony that viewers will see in the spinoff's two-hour premiere on Tuesday, Feb. 13, with the contestants and parade attendees unsure of whether or not to remove their hats or place their hands on their hearts, as you can see in E! News' exclusive sneak peek above. It's classic Bachelor moment, with the perfect balance of tongue-in-cheek playfulness and sincerity, just as the ABC reality hit's producers intended. 

"The anthem came about because we thought to ourselves, well, we really need some kind of anthem, some kind of song, that commemorates the beginning of these games," executive producer Bennett Graebner told E! News.

While the show briefly considered reaching out to "someone famous" to write and perform the song, another idea soon came to them.

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The Bachelor: Winter Games Cast Revealed

"I thought, why not reach out to a local high school and see if they'll put something together for us?" Graebner said. Winter Games ended up working with Burr & Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont, with the song being written by high school instrumental music teacher Neil Freeburn

"They put some lyrics together and recorded it and sent to us," Graebner said. "And it was great!"

Aside from "very few minor suggestions," the song delivered from the local high school "was actually great from the moment they sent it to us. It was really, really fun. We tried to incorporate as much of the local flavor in Vermont as we could, especially with that opening arrival parade." 

Burr & Burton Academy Fionnuala Cree had the honor of performing the anthem at the ceremony. 

ABC; Melissa Herwitt / E! Illustration

Adding in elements like the anthem or the infamous Love Boat-esque opening credits of Bachelor in Paradise serve as a way to help keep the creative spark alive in a franchise that's been airing for well over a decade. 

"That really is the joy of a new show, is that we can have a little fun with it," Graebner said. 

Here is the complete rundown of the anthem (feel free to put your hand over your open heart):

Bachelor Winter Games, to fight for love and more

Oh Bachelor, sweet Bachelor, we will compete for sure

In the time that we share, let's go beyond compare

Oh Bachelor, sweet Bachelor, we want to see this through

The reason's right, the future's bright to win your hand and heart

Oh Bachelor, sweet Bachelor, our Winter Games be true

The Bachelor Winter Games premieres Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 8 p.m., and then airs Thursday, Feb. 15, Tuesday, Feb. 20, and Thursday. Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. on ABC. 

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